Letters from California labor organizations to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board and to the Department of Industrial Relations related to revisions to the Process Safety Management standard to protect oil refinery workers, and DIR efforts to weaken worker protections.

May 2014: Memo from Acting Deputy Chief for Enforcement William Estakhri redefining the criteria for “high profile cases” and requiring expanded reporting to DOSH Headquarters and to the DIR Office of the Director.

March 2010: Department of Industrial Relations announces it will conduct an “audit” of all non-work, after-hours “teaching, training and presentation activities” of all Cal/OSHA professional staff. After a firestorm of criticism, DIR scales back its “audit.”

March 2010: Letters to the Department of Industrial Relations opposing the “audit” of Cal/OSHA staff’s after-hours activities from the Professional Engineers in California Government, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

June 2009: Open letter to Cal/OSHA Appeals Board from 47 Cal/OSHA staff regarding improper scheduling and forced settlement policies of the Board; materials from the California State Senate Labor Committee hearing on this issue; and materials from an August 2009 Appeals Board meeting on continuing problems.

April 2002: Report by the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) and Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) unions describing the state of Cal/OSHA in 2002 (“EGIP II”).

August 1999: Report from the “Employee-Generated Improvement Project” (EGIP) initiated by an open letter of Cal/OSHA staff to Chief John Howard with suggestions for improving the Division’s performance.